THE TRUTH ABOUT…Carly’s opinion on California’s water infrastructure needs.

CLAIM:
Carly supports a wasteful $11 billion water bond.

FACT:
Although the water package passed last year isn’t perfect, it does represent a critically important step in addressing California’s long-term water needs. The last opportunity to fix the underlying problems failed 25 years ago; California’s farmers, families and communities cannot afford to wait another 25 years for action on water. Therefore, Carly is in support of both the Senate taking action to address this issue in the short term and the comprehensive water package to address this problem in the long term.

Water Bond Is A “Long-Awaited, Historic Step Forward.” ““The comprehensive water plan passed yesterday in Sacramento is a long-awaited, historic step forward for California’s families, farmers and businesses. This plan is subject to voter approval and in the long term this plan will ensure a safe, reliable water supply for Californians, maintain the agricultural economy and communities of the Central Valley, bring more economic development and jobs all the while putting into place important environmental safeguards. Now it is time for the federal government to take action to help restore jobs in the short term. It is outrageous that almost 40,000 California farmers and farm workers in our Central Valley are out of work because we can’t find a balance between protecting our environment and protecting the economy.” (Press release [1], 11/5/09)

Key Stakeholders – Including A DWR Official – Predicted Heavy Job Losses From Lack Of Water In California’s Central Valley. “The state Department of Water Resources, which also ships farmers water, has promised to deliver 15 percent of the normal allocations in October, but conditions are so dire that that’s now in doubt, too. ‘The consequences are expected to be pretty horrible in terms of farmers’ revenue, but what’s really disconcerting are the possible job losses,’ said Wendy Martin, who leads the agency’s drought division. ‘Those communities that can least weather an economic downturn are going to be some of the places that are hit the hardest.’ Richard Howitt, a professor of agriculture economics at the University of California, Davis, estimates that $1.6 billion in agriculture-related wages, and as many as 60,000 jobs across the Central Valley will be lost in the coming months due to dwindling water.” (The Desert Sun, 1/26/09)